Pacific Report

97.000 Re-Settled

Since 1970, the Indonesian govern ment has resettled 23,723 families in six regions of Irian Jaya 82,191 outsiders and 15,514 people from local areas.

Teachers’ Strike

Teachers in Papua New Guinea’s West ern Highlands Province went on strike for a week last month, protesting against the region’s lawlessness. This followed the burning down of classrooms at the Minj High School, and numerous attacks on teachers and school property, including the rape of several female teachers.

Us Offer Rejected

A US offer to detonate French nuclear devices at an underground site in Nevada, has been rejected by France’s Defence Minister. Mr Andre Giraud. He said the French Government considered the tests at Mururoa posed no danger to the South Pacific.

Fishermen Rescued —1

The MV Tradition picked up four fish ermen from Kirabati who had been adrift for 23 days, and had survived by eating raw fish and drinking rain water. The men, in cluding former cabinet minister Mr Bin ala Tetaeka, former Minister of Health and Family Planning, were taken to Pago Pago in American Samoa. The MV Tradition was arrested in May by the Kiribati Government for fishing illegally in Kiri bati water, and was eventually sold back to its owners.

Fishermen Rescued 2

The captain and crew of Priscilla , a tuna boat from American Samoa, were rescued by a Nauruan cargo ship 60 kilo metres north west of Apia after their boat exploded and sank. The crew had been adrift for 14 hours. The boat had about 15.000 tonnes offish aboard when it sank.

A New Presence

The Japanese news agency, Jiji Press, says the Soviet Union has assigned one of its two most sophisticated submarines, the AKR class, to the Pacific fleet.

Nauru Investigations

Australia has provided official docu ments for the Nauru Rehabilitation In quiry into the worked-out mining areas on Nauru relating to phosphate mining on Nauru by the British Phosphate commis sion. The inquiry is investigating whether

damage to the environment can be re paired, and who should pay. Four-fifths of the island was devastated by the mining between 1920 and 1966 under the joint control of Britain, Australia and New Zea land. The three governments say they will not be bound by the findings of the inquiry.

Campus Freedom

Colonel Rabuka has assured the Uni versity of the South Pacific that units of military forces will not be allowed to come on to the campus, respecting its status as a regional institution.

Fare Increases

All outward fares from Fiji on inter national airlines rose nine per cent from July 20 and the cost of cargo went up by five per cent from August 1.

Second Channel

Papua New Guinea’s second television station went to air in Port Moresby on July 23. Called Em TV, Tok Pisin for This is Television, the station is half-owned by the Bond Corporation of Western Australia.

Its competitor, NTN, is also controlled by a West Australian company.

33 Candidates

The Union of Moderate Parties (UMP) in Vanuatu is to field 33 candidates in the November elections, the precise date for which has yet to be announced. Mr Vin cent Bulakone recently resumed his seat as UMP Congress president after a year long dispute (PIM July ‘B7). The UMP Congress has agreed to accept coalitions with new smaller opposition parties on condition that they field candidates only in the strongholds of the ruling Vanua’aku Pati.

Asean Treaty

Papua New Guinea is to sign a treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN na tions this month. PNG has had special ob server status at ASEAN meetings, and the accession to the treaty has been pushed by Mr Paias Wingti, who has stressed the im portance of Papua New Guinea’s “bridg ing role” between south-east Asia and the island states of the South Pacific Forum.

Water Shortage

The 36,000 residents of Western Sa moa’s capital, Apia, were left without water when the town’s main water supply was found to be contaminated by pesticide.

Four men were arrested for using a pesti cide to catch shrimp in the reservoir.

Bans Lifted

Australian and New Zealand unions have lifted trade bans imposed on Fiji shortly after the May military coup.

Cyclone Relief

Fiji has received nearly 5F45,000 from the Netherlands for cyclone relief work.

The money will help rebuild three school blocks damaged by Cyclone Raja earlier this year.

Privileges

Tonga’s Privy Council has ruled that corruption charges against 25 of the coun try’s 28 members of parliament should not be heard by the Supreme Court on the grounds that the Legislative Assembly had absolute privileges on deciding on allow ances for its members.

The charges had been brought by Mr Ipeni Siale who claimed that the MPs had accepted over-payments of more than $150,000 on travel allowances.

In a separate decision, Mr Siale was barred from accepting a seat in Tonga’s Legislative Assembly as a people’s repre sentative from the Vava’u group, because he accepted American citizenship in 1984 and therefore was no longer a Tongan subject.